How glamorous is IB really?

Do people get to wear fancy suits/watches every day as it is depicted on popular culture? Is there an overt culture of aspiration and luxury that is actively promulgated by the company itself? Compared to "normal" jobs where it is politically correct to be average and not show off success or wealth or achievement. I always thought highly of IB for this reason. However, I didn't recruit for it. I'm starting at MBB now after graduation but am not sure if IB is a better place for me if this is the lifestyle that I'm looking for. 

12 Comments
 

Its just a high paying white collar job. Nothing glamorous abt it lol

 
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Think you’ve seen too much Succession. As the other comment pointed out, nobody actually wears suits in the office everyday. No one goes out of their way to show off their Patek or Vacheron or anything like that (in fact you’ll likely see more Apple Watches than anything super high end in any given office).

There is no “overt culture of luxury” or anything close to that in IB or any role in finance really. People are focused on their work, and juniors especially don’t and shouldn’t care about showing off the nicest things while at work of all places. I don’t know what to make of you saying a culture where people are just hyper-materialistic all the time is what you’re looking for.

 

I dont think he is hyper materialistic, instead I just think he likes to dress nice, and I agree with him. Nowadays if you dont look like you came from golfing apparently you’re formal and arrogant.

 

Not sure in which bank or region you are but in my team London half of people wear suits everyday with the other half a shirt and fleece vest. Many have luxury watches (I can count at least 10 Rolex/Omega in my team) and expensive shoes, are members of private clubs or high-end gym clubs, and always go to crazy destinations for holidays. I personally do feel this pressure to spend

 

It's largely a bunch of ripe 22 year olds sitting in one place for 16+ hours at a time. There is literally nothing glamorous about IB

 

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